I manage to get out and practice putting 1 or 2 times a week. I have a routine I developed that goes like this: (I have 6 identical putters: 1 "rep" = 6 putts)

6 reps at 15 ft.
6 reps at 20 ft
6 reps at 25 ft
6 reps at 32 ft
1 rep at 32 ft
1 rep at 25 ft (must make 3 of 6 before I can go on)
1 rep at 20 ft. (must make all 6 before I can go on)
1 rep at 15ft (must make all 6 before I can go on)

This works out to at least 168 putts and takes about 30 minutes. And, coming back, I usually have to do one of those last reps over before I can go on. I have been looking for something different to keep practices fresh. Does anyone else have routines for their putting practice?

Do you listen to music when putting ?

my advise would be to get 4 more putters so that you have 10 same mold and weight. decrease each rep to 5, make sure to move around after sets, so do one set of 15 footers then go to 20 instead of doing 50 15 footers then 50 20 footers... variety is the spice of life, no music while you practice, unless you listen to music when you compete, (practice is to prepare you for competition, do it the same way as much as possible) instead of doing the routine once or twice a week, do it once or twice a day at least 4 days a week.

My routine goes like this

20 wizards 173-175
start at 10 feet putt all 20
move to 15 putt all 20
move to 20 putt all 20
move to 25 putt all 20
go to the distance I had the most misses at putt all 20 again
go to 25 putt all 20
from here structure is less important to me, I try to make sure that I throw at least 250 putts when I go out to practice, and I try to get out at least twice a day and at least 4 days a week, I have been doing this for about a week now and the results are incridable, No more fear at running a 40 footer since even if I have a 20 footer to hit the 3 I know I have that putt.

I do not practice any putts outside 10 meters at home for two reasons, 1. Not really enough room, and 2. I want to focus on getting to 85-90% from inside the circle, right now I jump putt anything from 10-15 meters and outside 15 I throw putt so those shots tend to take care of themself and get more accurate when I know before I throw that if I miss I will make the comeback.

Quality putting will always yeild better results than quantity putting. I put my pride aside 3 weeks ago and asked my course pro, " what is worng with my putting ? "
In a little time practicing with him, we identified my problem. My putting issues have almost vanished. Ask your local pro's, their advise can go alot farther than throwing
500 putt's a day @ home. Also, go play with a pro if you have a chance, their actions on a course could show you more than they may even know. Helped my drain several 40 + footers in the headwind on my local Fly 18 course yesterday.

Excellent suggestions. I think I will try more variety...it makes sense. I also do not practice outside 10 meters for the same reasons. I am preparing for Am Worlds and trying to establish a schedule of sorts, and hopefully will carry that practice past Am Worlds. I dont get a chance to get on the course but once a week usually. I discovered long ago that good, consistant putting is the name of the game. When you consider that roughly half of your score during a round comes from your putts (PDGA Radio last week)...you realize the importance of a good, solid putting game. Inconsistant putting is way less forgiving than inconsitant driving or upshots.

As far as course Pros, I would love to ask them....but, we dont really have any where I am from. The best players are just...good. We dont have an established DG scene here and the best players are mostly young...and, play well mostly because they are naturally athletic. None of them practice that I know of. I have played with and talked to Pros from other parts of the region, but unfortunatly I dont get to play with any of them on a casual basis. Im hoping to be that 'Course Pro' one day that others can come to for advice.

Every morning, waiting for my boss to wake up for the ride into work, I do my putting routine.

This is completely different from what you've seen above.

I have to build up 3 points at each distance to move on to the next, drop below 0 points at a distance and you move back forward to 2 points at the previous 'station'. I do 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31 (3 foot incriments, I've never made it past 31 feet).

You make a putt, it's a point, you miss a putt, it costs a point. You putt, you go get the disc, then return to the spot and have to resetup. This has helped me in that, as soon as I get behind my mini, I know my full routine. It's actually pretty fun to play against somone with this too.

There is another funway to practice, play pig or horse. Its more practice for those shots you don't think you'll have during a round. Plus there is pressure and competitive tension at the same time. I usually find myself putting better doing this before a round.

As far as solo practice i have 3 putters, same weight different plastics, and putt from 10, 15, 20, 25 18x at each. Then I'll go random distances 25+ ft away and go for putts/approaches and then finish out each of the putters in the basket. Eventually I'll do though approach shots and finish out each.

I like to have multiple distractions around me, it helps me to focus. Also i try to do it for long stretches of time. Give the strain of long rounds at tournaments.

First of all I use the same type of putter and the same weight. I usually use 6 putters during practice. I try to practice the way I play and play the way I practice. One thing that also helped was to record 50 putts from the same spot and I was able to quickly see the weak spot in my putting (my wrist).

my main drill is the ladder drill, I read it in one of the DG magazines and modified it. I lay the discs out at 5 foot intervals at 10' 15' 20' 25' 30' 35'. I then putt each disc having to reset each time. Once I putt those, I line the discs back up in a different direction, this changes the wind etc... I repeat this 5 times, quality versus quantity. Once I have done 5 reps from the shortest distance to the longest distance, I then reverse the direction and go from the longest distance to the shortest distance again doing 5 reps from different directions.

Another drill I do, if someone else is with me is to have them toss the 6 discs onto the ground, not exceeding 40' from the basket. As I putt them in, they toss the disc back out in a circular pattern at various distances (this saves walking back and forth to retrieve the discs from the basket). I normally will do 3 laps around in this manner.

I do not practice putts outside of 40'. I believe it is more important to be comfortable hitting the putts from inside the circle, thus giving you the confidence to charge at the basket when you are 50' or 60' away, cause if you miss, the 20' come back putt is easy.

I wouldn't really say I have a regimine for putting. I try to make sure that I am practicing the gimmies (20' and in), but not too much. Practicing outside of 30' probably makes up most of my practice time (since I have the most trouble with 35'-40' I practice those most). I don't usually practice putts longer than 50'. I usually leave those for the practice rounds. I would say work on the putts that give you the most trouble. A hyzer putt around a tree, a lob putt up and over an obstacle. As said earlier in this post, quality of putts over quantity. I still do 100+, finish up with putts you are comfortable with to get you confidence up! Good luck!

Alex Pozzy from Maine created this game. I swear by it. It takes about 15-20 minutes to play.

Pozzy�s Putting Game

Ok, I have some time now to re-type the rules to Pozzy's Putting Game.

First, a little on the background and concepts about the game. There are a bunch of objectives it accomplishes:

1. Repetitive Motion. Some people have criticized the game because it repeats the same putts over and over, and they prefer to play a game like HORSE, where you move all around, more like a real situation. Both have value for sure, but IMHO, to become a great putter, you first need to train your muscle memory, which involves serious repetition of the exact same motion.

2. Fun. Practice for the most part sucks and is boring. Most of us would rather play rounds. This game is very much a "game" which has a scoring system, so it's not just practice. You set a score, then keep trying to beat it.

3. Competition. In order to simulate the pressure of real tournament putting, this game has an element of competition. First, as you keep score, it becomes you against your best score, much like golfing is you against the course. But because the rules are uniform, you can compete against other people in different locations. For example, Jason, Mike D, and I used to have a competition where we'd say that whoever gets the highest putting game score when we meet at the next tourney wins and gets some cash or whatever. So for the few weeks before the tourney, I'm competing against Jason and Mike whenever I practice, and that definitely ups the pressure on my putts.

4. Don't over-shoot the pin. One of the worst things you can do while putting is to blow by the basket and miss your comeback putt. This game punishes you HARD for doing that.

5. Consistency. There are huge rewards for hitting all your putts, encouraging consistency.

So here are the rules to Pozzy's Putting Game. I haven't played in years, so if I screw anything up hopefully someone will correct me:

First, you need 10 putters, preferrably identical to your every day putter. Having less means you have to keep picking them up, which gets boring. Throwing 10 in a row keeps it fun and lets you work on the muscle memory.

Mark out 5 spots in a straight line from the pole hole, at 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 feet. If 10 footers are a complete joke, then move it to 15, as we did after a couple months of playing. That in itself was proof of how well the game worked, as when we started it was hard to get all 10 in from 10 feet, and after a while it was impossible to miss one.

So once you have your game set up, bring the 10 putters to the 10 foot line. I'd suggest putting a chair or table beside you, so you can quickly grab them without bending down to the ground every time.

You shoot all 10 from 10 feet. Since there is no excuse for missing a 10 footer EVER, the only way you score is by getting all 10 in. If you get all 10, then you get 10 points. But if you miss, you LOSE 10 points for every one you miss. Harsh, because there is no excuse for ever missing a 10 footer.

This next part involves what to do when you miss. The same rules apply to putts missed from all distances:

Take all of your misses to whichever miss was farthest from the pin. If you missed more than 1, you're gonna pay by shooting the longest possible putts. When you shoot these back, you have to get them all in. If you get them all in, you don't get any more points. Why would you get rewarded for saving a putt you should have made in the first place? But if you MISS your comeback putts? You get screwed, and screwed hard, because missing a comeback putt is about as bad as it gets. So for every one you miss, you lose DOUBLE what that putt was originally worth. And if you then miss any of those putts, you lose DOUBLE what it just was.

In other words, don't miss those recovery putts, ever!

So all your discs are in. Now take all 10 to the 20' mark. These are all worth 1 point each. If you miss any of these (or any from longer distances) you don't LOSE any points, because you're no longer in the absolute gimme range. However, we still want to reward consistency, so if you hit all 10 of them, you get double points. So you get 9 points for 9, or 20 points for 10. As with the others, take all the misses to the farthest point and shoot them back. If you miss any, you lose 2 points for each miss. You then take those all to the farthest miss, and lose 4 points if you miss any. If you miss a 3rd time, just give up disc golf.

Now shoot 10 from 30 feet. These are woth 2 points each, so you could get 40 if you hit all 10. All the other rules are the same.

Then 10 from 40', worth 5 points each.

10 from 50', all worth 10 points.

I think the highest score I ever got was mid 80's, lowest was like -60 or something. I'd be curious what the all-time record is by now.

One round of this game takes about 15 minutes or so if I recall correctly. If you factor in missing maybe 10 or so per round, you throw about 60 or more putts per round. Play 4 rounds in one hour and you just threw 250 or more putts.

Oh, I forgot the most important rule. You can't quit in the middle of a round. If you do, you have to stop for the day. This is because once you get good, you may get like 60 points or something. Then in the next round, you miss one of your 10 footers, and then miss the comeback, and you're -20 and you know there's no chance in hell you'll beat 60. So the urge is to quit and start over. NO DICE. Finish the round and practice ALL your putts, or go home and watch tv because you're a quitting loser.

I really can't tell you how much this can help your putting game if you play it a bunch, especially for newer players who still don't have a solid, repetitive putting style down. It forces you to have one, and trains the muscles to do it over and over.

Does anyone experiment with different putting styles and motions or do you just try to perfect what you already do?

I think that putting is more of an artform than a science (throwing drives can be taught in an "ABC" format) and it doesn't matter all that much exactly how you putt.

I have fooled around with my wrist while putting and found that I am really good if I curl my wrist back really far in my pull-back. I am not using much arm-strength, so the disc doesn't fly any faster but there is more spin. I have not noticed that this causes any more spits but I have noticed that I hardly ever miss high or low. After a little practice, I got the feel down and all putts have the correct height. Even 50'ers. Most of my misses are to the right. Also, the added spin really helps my wind-putting (which is a major weakness in my game).

here's what i do for putting practice:

90-100 putters

one set at 33 feet
one set at 36 feet (different angle than the 33 footer)
another set at 33 feet
another set at 36 feet

then go my 21 foot position and dont stop until ALL putters have been made.

quality IS more important than quantity BUT quantity is GREAT when it is also quality! so i keep it moving, but not too fast. i make sure i go through my setup routine for every putt. this has actually allowed me to shorten my setup routine because i only do the minimum number of steps i need to relax, focus, and throw.

Seems like alot .....................get tired ?

then go my 21 foot position and dont stop until ALL putters have been made.





seems to me alot would fall out as they overflowed.

:o:D :D

here's my putting routine:

throw about ten and after missing way too many deciding i have gotten my misses out of the way and so i am ready to play. /msgboard/images/graemlins/smirk.gif :eek: :D

Bring a practice basket to a field (or somewhere that works for you - an interesting/real life location would be better). Bring out 5 drivers and 5 midranges. Throw them from the locations that you expect to get up and down from. Putt once from each disc thrown. If you miss your putt, go back after you are done putting out and putt 10X from those spots. Rinse and repeat.

I don't have a set practice routine, more or less finish some misses and headwind/tailwind. What gets me, is in practice I can nail 80% more putts then league or a tourny. As soon as score counts, I start doinking 15 ft. putts. Once every 2 weeks I'll put in a good round. What can I do to carry over my practice routine into score based comp.

whats to get tired fom? i'm putting, not running a marathon. if i keep it moving i can get it down in 60-75 minutes.

krazyeye, i empty the basket when its full. remember its only like 35 feet away so it aint hard to get to.

100 putters, pat? That must take you like 4 hours. :D:D:D

never heard of anyone needing 100 putters. lol

to each his own, I guess.

How many putter's ,does your basket hold at one time ?

Does anyone experiment with different putting styles and motions or do you just try to perfect what you already do?


Variety is the spice of life. I can not count how many putts i have made in competition, backwards, against a tree into a headwind from 30 ft. Because I practice the most unusual stances and styles @ home. Keeping ahead of the competition 1 stroke because you made that 15 ft turbo putt from behind the junk ( that you practice at home ) : Priceless

I usually putt about 5 15 footers before the round and then practice my putting during the round.

its a regular basket so it holds 30-35 pretty easily. altho i usually empty it when it gets into the high 20's. i hate those bounce outs.

as far as using 100 putters, think about it. use 10 putters and you'll be walking back and forth a LOT. with 100 putters you cut your walking time by 90%! and it makes the math for tracking your percentages really simple.

yeah but you still have to carry all those babies at once or make several trips (and empty out the basket a lot). do you buy a hundred of each distinct run of your favorite putter? :eek: :D

actually it's a bit of a 'sour grapes' thing for me: that would take a little more cash than is in my financial portfolio :p

even if i empty the thing three times its still an efficient way to practice.

as far as how to get 100 putters, for a while i just got putters for winnings. you can never have too many putters. i do not try to get all the same. i use hard and soft magnets, a couple different types of challengers, old school elite apx's and swirl apx's. the slight changes train my mind to disregard minor differences or bumps, etc on my putter when it counts. and of course it helps simulate different wind / stability situations.

Try adding to your routine putting with your opposite hand. I could explain in eight or nine sentences why this will make you a better putter with your dominant hand, but I won't, because maybe someday I'm going to need to beat you! :D

It worked for me. It worked for Diana. It seems to be working for Kira. You try it.

that is definitely a great idea bruce. i do that from about 15-18 feet but not much farther out. it does help

I usually putt about 5 15 footers before the round and then practice my putting during the round.



that's about the gist of my routine too. maybe I should change somehting so I get better...

click click RIGHT! back back

hey, hows chambersburg??? i used to live there, from like 1980 through about 85 or so. shippensburg, chambersburg and Horse Valley if ya know where that is

click click RIGHT! back back

hey, hows chambersburg??? i used to live there, from like 1980 through about 85 or so. shippensburg, chambersburg and Horse Valley if ya know where that is



negative on horse valley, don't know it. but chambersburg is treating me well, minus thehour drive to any course...but we're working on that as we speak...as well as I'm working on my putting /msgboard/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Question about the Pozzy Putting game:

I did this for half an hour for some practice and it was a good change of pace. I have a question about scoring comeback misses. If you miss 8 from say 40' (a possible 5 pt shot) and then miss one of the comeback putts, do you deduct 10 points for the missed comeback since it's double the original value?

In other words: Missed comebacks after shooting 30fters would be -4, shooting 40fters would be -10 and 50fters would be -20?

Cool game. Might have to play it for a bit and see how high i can score.

MAD MAX :D

Every morning, waiting for my boss to wake up for the ride into work, I do my putting routine.

This is completely different from what you've seen above.

I have to build up 3 points at each distance to move on to the next, drop below 0 points at a distance and you move back forward to 2 points at the previous 'station'. I do 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31 (3 foot incriments, I've never made it past 31 feet).

You make a putt, it's a point, you miss a putt, it costs a point. You putt, you go get the disc, then return to the spot and have to resetup. This has helped me in that, as soon as I get behind my mini, I know my full routine. It's actually pretty fun to play against somone with this too.


I do something a bit similar.

I use three identical putters and start at a distance I am comfortable with (say 5-6 steps from the basket). The first throw (the only one that matters in a tournament) counts for two points, the next two for one point each. You will get 0 to 4 points. Subtract 2 points and increase/decrease the putting distance accordingly, e.g.. with 3 points, add 1 step to the putting distance.

For the next batch, don't putt from the same line, but choose the putting direction randomly (e.g. in the direction of the disc of the furthest missed putt).

It is nice to have some obstacles/gentle elevation change around, so you also get to practise putting around the obstacles (e.g. 2-3 trees some 20-30 from the basket), but majority of the putts should be unobstructed.

This routine keeps me at a very relevant distance (typically 20-35 feet). I don't practise shorter putts much (after playing at 25-30 feet for a while, those 15-18-footers look very simple and just go in). Sometimes I play "for how long can I stay at or above 10 steps?".

After about 50-80 putts (when I get tired of all the bending for the discs), I play a practise round (and wonder why I can't putt like that in a tournament ) and perhaps repeat the putting practise afterwards.

Nice .................It is nice to have some obstacles/gentle elevation change around, so you also get to practise putting around the obstacles (e.g. 2-3 trees some 20-30 from the basket), but majority of the putts should be unobstructed.

Also try setting up a portable basket and putt through your car's windows rolled down.
Done this several times till the Neighbor got upset !!!!! :eek: Just kidding.

Different heights , Different Angles of release , Opposite Hands , both sidearms included...................Always experiment and see what's possible...................Remember.........Don't limit yourself to one style only for everything. /msgboard/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

I always try to work in a few turbo putts (also known as pizza tosses) when I'm putting around. I always steal a few strokes at tournements throughout the year by being proficient at putting over an obstacle with it. It's just nice to have options when you look at a tricky putt (just as it's nice to have different ways to throw a tricky hole).

also..putt a bunch and you'll get better.

-Max

I always try to work in a few turbo putts (also known as pizza tosses) when I'm putting around. I always steal a few strokes at tournements throughout the year by being proficient at putting over an obstacle with it. It's just nice to have options when you look at a tricky putt (just as it's nice to have different ways to throw a tricky hole).

also..putt a bunch and you'll get better.

-Max



I start from 12 feet away to start and then I move 2 feet back using 2 putters. I spend an hour to an hour and a half twice weekly, and 20 minutes before a tourney. I limit myself to 40 feet for practice and when I'm done I do 10 from 50 10 from 60 and 5 from 80.